November is only around the corner, which means Movember is fast approaching too! Want to learn what the month is all about and how to get involved? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered.
What is Movember?
Movember is an annual event that aims to raise awareness of a number of health issues that are not often talked about within male circles, including prostate cancer, depression and suicide. Taking place in the month of November, both men and women are encouraged to get involved by taking part in special events across the country and raising money for the variety of charities that campaign for men’s health.
As for why the event is called Movember, it’s a wordplay on the words moustache and November. One of the main ways people get involved and raise money is by growing a moustache/beard, by pledging not to shave throughout the whole of November and getting people to sponsor them. The idea started in Australia back in 2003, when a couple of friends decided to create the event to help raise money for men’s health charities. While only 30 people took part then, fast forward 15 years and it’s now a massive global event spanning over 21 countries.
The hard facts
Whether you grow a moustache or not, the month is supposed to encourage people to get together and raise money in fun and exciting ways. However, the facts behinds men’s health are anything but fun.
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that only men can get, and it can be deadly. The good news is that if it is detected early, survival rates are actually above 98%. The bad news is that this drops dramatically to only 26% if it is detected late. That’s why early prevention is so important, and why a large focus of Movember is encouraging men to get checked to see if they are at risk.
Movember is also a month that focuses on depression and suicide. While both are not issues that only affect men, studies have shown the issues are far more prevalent for males than females. On average, a man commits suicide every minute of every day. While the reasons behind suicide vary from person to person, Movember aims to raise awareness around mental health, as well as reaching out to help tackle the problem – with the goal to reduce the rate of male suicide by 25% by 2030.
How to get involved
Aside from growing a moustache, there are lots of other ways to get involved this Movember. You can check out the official website to see what events are happening in your area, or you can get creative and make your own! Big or small, make sure you register your event on the Movember site to make it official and help spread the word through social media.
Stuck for ideas? How about getting some people in the office together for a sponsored football match? Got lots of items spare? Then how about putting together a raffle to raise some money? Or if you fancy yourself a bit of a whizz in the kitchen, how about creating a bake sale?
Whatever you do this Movember, know you’re helping change men’s lives for the better.
